>>> Operation TIPS--the citizen snitch program set up by the Justice Department--was announced on the Citizen Corps Website in spring 2002. It became the subject of huge controversy--even reaching the mainstream media and Congress--thanks to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 15 July. At some point during the resulting denunciations of this Stalinesque plan, the text on the TIPS Website was changed.

Although some information was added, some of the changes were deletions of specifics. No more list of the exact professions of the main informants. No more reference to a pilot program of one million people in ten cities.

The language was also softened. The phrase "suspicious terrorist activity" became "suspicious, and potentially terrorist-related activity." The phrase "unusual events... suspicious activity" became "potentially unusual or suspicious activity in public places."

Most notably, the exhortation "Volunteer now!" has been removed. Operation TIPS is now being presented as an elite program created by government and industry rather than as a citizen-snitch program that people can join to spy on their neighbors.

For the record, below are versions of the Operation TIPS Website from before and after the change.

[For more on Operations TIPS, read these articles from the Washington Times and the Boston Globe.]

[The Memory Hole has changed this page. Find out why.]

Operation TIPS - the Terrorism Information and Prevention System - will be a nationwide program giving millions of American truckers, letter carriers, train conductors, ship captains, utility employees, and others a formal way to report suspicious terrorist activity. Operation TIPS, a project of the U.S. Department of Justice, will begin as a pilot program in 10 cities that will be selected.

Operation TIPS, involving 1 million workers in the pilot stage, will be a national reporting system that allows these workers, whose routines make them well-positioned to recognize unusual events, to report suspicious activity. Every participant in this new program will be given an Operation TIPS information sticker to be affixed to the cab of their vehicle or placed in some other public location so that the toll-free reporting number is readily available.

Everywhere in America, a concerned worker can call a toll-free number and be connected directly to a hotline routing calls to the proper law enforcement agency or other responder organizations when appropriate.

Operation TIPS is coming in August 2002.
Volunteer now!

The Department of Justice is discussing participation with several industry groups whose workers are ideally suited to help in the anti-terrorism effort because their routines allow them to recognize unusual events and have expressed a desire for a mechanism to report these events to authorities.

These workers will use their common sense and knowledge of their work environment to identify suspicious or unusual activity. This program offers a way for these workers to report what they see in public areas and along transportation routes.

All it will take to volunteer is a telephone or access to the Internet as tips can be reported on the toll-free hotline or online. Information received will be referred electronically to a point of contact in each state as appropriate. This is not a national 911 center, and callers are expected to dial 911 for emergency local response.

Industries that are interested in participating in this program will be given printed guidance material, flyers and brochures, about the program and how to contact the Operation TIPS reporting center. This information can be distributed to workers or posted in common work areas. Operation TIPS is scheduled to be launched in late summer or early fall 2002. The goal of the program is to establish a reliable and comprehensive national system for reporting suspicious, and potentially terrorist-related, activity. Operation TIPS will be phased in across the country to enable the system to build its capacity to receive an increasing volume of tips.

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